thresher

American  

[thresh-er] / ˈθrɛʃ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that threshes.

2. Also called thresher shark.  Also a large shark of the genus Alopias, especially A. vulpinus, which threshes the water with its long tail to drive together the small fish on which it feeds.

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thresher British  

/ ˈθrɛʃə /

noun

1. a person who threshes

2. short for threshing machine

3. Also called: thrasher.   thresher shark.  any of various large sharks of the genus Alopias, esp A. vulpinus, occurring in tropical and temperate seas: family Alopiidae. They have a very long whiplike tail with which they are thought to round up the small fish on which they feed

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Etymology

Origin of thresher

First recorded in 1350–1400, thresher is from the Middle English word thressher. See thresh, -er ¹

Explanation

A machine or tool used for separating seeds from a grain can be called a thresher. The mechanical thresher was invented in the 18th century. Threshers have simplified the work of agriculture, automating a job that humans once spent tedious hours doing. A combine is an even more efficient machine, combining a thresher and a harvester—it picks the grain and separates its seeds. A scythe is a curved knife used for hand threshing, and the thresher shark gets its name from a resemblance to this tool.

Example Sentences

We’re not talking about a loom, a thresher, or a bolt-turning robot.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Dr. Porter’s team could tell quite a few tales about what they had to do to obtain thresher shark vertebrae for their study.

From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2024

All three thresher shark species have been listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union since 2007.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024

Phoenix, meanwhile, has resembled basketball’s version of a thresher, ripping through the NBA and extracting what it wants.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2022

“Looks like a swordfish and a thresher shark,” says Captain Smith.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone